Area 52
by i am a good fighter
Summary: Now in chapter form. It's almost summer, time for Ms. Keane and some of her kids to go camping in Townsville Forest. That means sitting around the fire, eating s'mores and telling scary stories. And Buttercup has a doozy...
1. Default Chapter

****

"Area 52"

* * *

By I am a good fighter

Powerpuff Girls created by Craig McCracken and all characters associated with the show are owned by Cartoon Network

  
  


** ONE**

  


The light from the campfire flickered brightly, casting eerie shadows across the childrens' faces as they sat around it. It was Friday night, the first of the weekend camping trip to the Townsville Forest by Ms. Keane's kindergarten class; and many of the children had never been away from home and their families, let alone go camping. In fact, a good number of the students weren't along; their parents believing they were just too young still for something like this. The children who were allowed to make the trip were Mitch Mitchellson, Harry Pitt, the Floyjoydsen twins Lloyd and Floyd, Elmer Sglue, Julie Bean, and the triplets known collectively as the Powerpuff Girls, Blossom, Buttercup and Bubbles.

You could hardly even call it camping. Townsville Forest wasn't exactly what you would call roughing it. Sure, there were some large areas of dense growth where only an experienced hiker should go, but not this part of the forest. It was nicely cleared out and there were dozens of areas, each with small log-style cabins that could be rented. Each area was numbered and was accessed by a footpath that led from a parking area off of the main road that ran through the developed part of the forest. Each cabin sat roughly a hundred yards from the next, so there was plenty of space for the renter to feel 'away from it all' during their stay. Smaller areas with single cabins could be had and larger ones, with up to four cabins to accommodate bigger-sized groups, were also available. For this trip, Ms. Keane had gotten two cabins. She and the girls would sleep in one and the boys in the other. 

It was almost eight-thirty on this early June evening, near the end of the school year. It was warm, so the campfire was for fun, not heat. It sat in the grassy area belonging to the girls' cabin, centered pretty much between the cabin and the imaginary dividing line between the two, and was about fifty feet away from the woods. At the moment, the children sat around it, not too close, their teacher had warned. Ms.Keane was in her cabin, preparing the fixings for the s'mores that the kids would make. She wasn't concerned about supervision. Either Blossom or Buttercup would keep them in line, and for certain Bubbles would yell if something were amiss.

Missing from the group around the fire were Buttercup and Harry Pitt. Harry had gone into the heavier growth around the clearing to get some more wood for the fire, and Buttercup had gone in search of some nice, straight sticks for toasting the marshmallows. On one side of the fire sat Blossom, with Bubbles to her right and Julie to Bubbles' right. To Blossom's left was the space where Buttercup would sit upon her return. Elmer was sitting in the next spot, and next to him was a space reserved for Ms. Keane. That made Elmer happy, because she would be between him and the twins, who were very big for their ages and could be bullies at times. But they weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer and often took their cue from Mitch, who was an instigator. He sat next to Lloyd, and completing the circle was the empty spot where Harry would sit.

Buttercup, Blossom and Bubbles sat pretty much facing the boys' cabin and the woods behind it, and the twins and Mitch faced the girls' cabin and woods. Elmer and Ms. Keane sat with the forest to their backs, facing the footpaths to the cabins and the parking lot beyond, and Harry and Julie faced the dark expanse of the deepest part of the forest.

This left Mitch directly opposite Buttercup, just like she wanted. She would alternate between thinking he was cool or a jerk. Most of the time she thought he was pretty cool and liked sitting near him, but tonight she had other ideas. She wanted to see his face when she scared his pants off, because that was her main reason for wanting to come on this trip at all: to tell scary stories around the fire.

It was just after sunset and not dark yet, but getting there. The fire was starting to dwindle already and needed more wood. 

"Buttercup! Hurry up, it's getting dark!" Bubbles yelled.

"What's taking those two so long?" Blossom wondered aloud.

"Maybe they went to start their own fire!" Mitch said in his gravelly voice and laughed his Popeye laugh. Bubbles giggled. The twins laughed too, with no idea what they were laughing at. Elmer appeared just as clueless. Blossom and Julie looked at each other and just rolled their eyes. 

"I heard that!" Buttercup said loudly, suddenly appearing from the edge of the woods with a handful of sticks. "What, are you jealous or something?" she added with a smirk as she floated to her spot and sat, and began to pass the sticks around.

That wiped the smile off his face. Him, jealous of Harry, the human vacuum cleaner bag? That'd be the day. Though ever since the Powerpuffs had overcome their fear of cooties, he'd noticed that Buttercup hadn't minded Harry at all. Dirt never bothered her, either. He saw Buttercup sneering at him and tried to think of something smart to say back to her, but he drew a blank. Blossom was too goody-goody and Bubbles, well, she was everything he hated about girls. But Buttercup was pretty cool, even if she was a girl. Maybe he was a little jealous. He'd make sure he really impressed her with the story he had cooked up.

His thoughts were interrupted by another yell, this time from Blossom. "Harreee! Hurry uuupp!! It's gettin' dark!

"Whynt'cha go get him yourself, Blossom?" Bubbles giggled, giving her sister a playful shove. This time Elmer got it and even Julie laughed. 

"Oh, shut up, Bubbles." Blossom said, blushing furiously. Luckily for her, it couldn't be seen in the gathering dark. Just then, Harry finally came out of the woods, his face hidden by a pile of good-sized sticks. He walked over to the group and plopped the pile down on the ground, then plopped himself down next to Julie, who inched away, not at all thrilled to be stuck next to him. 

"It's about time." Mitch griped. "What were you doin' in there, rootin' in the mud?"

Blossom floated from her spot to the woodpile. She thought that Harry really wasn't that awful in spite of always being covered in grime. Anyone who loved to play with dirt like he did might grow up to be a famous archaeologist someday. Or a janitor, she thought as he wiped a filthy hand across his sweaty forehead, leaving streaks of brown. She grabbed as much wood as she could and started strategically placing pieces around the fire. Naturally, she knew more about the proper way to build a decent campfire than the rest of them, even though it had been Buttercup's hands rubbing together to create a spark that worked better than anything else. Within minutes, the fire was going great blazes. Blossom flew off to the girls' cabin.

"Ms. Keane, the fire's ready! Are you comin' out?"

Her teacher stepped out onto the porch. "I'm all set, Blossom. Want to carry this for me?" She held out a platter of graham crackers, chocolate pieces, small paper plates and napkins, and Blossom took it. Ms. Keane stepped back inside and came out with a cooler full of sodas and a bag of marshmallows. Blossom floated alongside as Keane walked toward the children. 

"This is gonna be so much fun, Ms. Keane! I just hope the Professor doesn't worry too much." It was their first night away from home without him, and Blossom was more concerned about him than for herself or her sisters. They were excited about it. 

No one was more excited than Buttercup. This was a moment she'd waited a LONG time for. Even her sisters didn't know just how long this had been in the works. They had absolutely no clue of what lay in store for them. No one did. She barely noticed her sister and her teacher taking their seats, but she did see the tray of goodies. She looked up to see the perfect cloudless sky just beginning to twinkle with the evening's first stars, and the moon hanging in the southeast like a large slice of cheese. Excellent! All was in readiness. While she was normally impatient, now she was calm. She would half-listen to the lame stories the others told, until it came her time. 

  



	2. Ch 2

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"Area 52"

* * *

By I am a good fighter

Powerpuff Girls created by Craig McCracken and all characters associated with the show are owned by Cartoon Network

  
  
  


** TWO**

  


It was dark, now, and the only light came from the fire. Each child had their plate and their can of soda and was busy roasting marshmallows and sticking them on top of their crackers and chocolate. Nobody wanted to go first with their story. Buttercup had made up her mind to wait, and she was staring into the flames, the flickering reflections dancing on her eyeballs. She pushed a marshmallow into the fire and watched it burst into flame, waited until it was fully engulfed, pulled it out and blew on it, then put the stick in her mouth and slid it out without the charred lump, which she bit down on. It made a satisfying crunch.

"Mmmmm, burnt offerings…."

"How can you stand to eat them like that?" Blossom asked in disgust while toasting her marshmallow to a nice even brown. Mitch got one blazing and with a wide grin, bent the top of his stick backward and released it. The flaming marshmallow took off like a shooting star toward the boys' cabin and crashed to earth in the grass.

"Mitchell!" Ms. Keane scolded as most of the other children laughed. Blossom was not impressed and gave him a dirty look, but he was watching for Buttercup's approval. She didn't even crack a grin, just sat stone-faced burning herself another marshmallow. The campfire lit up her face with an eerie glow.

"No one else better try that!" the teacher warned, and the chuckling died down. "Now, if nobody's going to volunteer, I'll pick someone. Elmer, how about you?"

"Awwww."

"Go ahead, Elmer. Everyone's going to get a turn."

The twins and Bubbles groaned. "But I'm no good at making up stories!" Elmer complained. "Me neither." Bubbles whined.

Blossom turned to her. "Yes you are, Bubbles. The Professor believes EVERYTHING you tell him."

Bubbles stuck out her tongue but Blossom missed it. She wanted to see Buttercup's grin, and she was kind of surprised her sister hadn't gotten that jab out before she did. But Buttercup just continued to stare into the fire. Blossom waved her hand in her sister's face. "I'm listening…" Buttercup said in a monotone, while chewing.

__

"Whoa… she must have a REAL good one!" Blossom thought. _"I don't have a very good one and I've been thinking all day!"_

"Elmer…we're waiting!" Keane prompted. 

He hung his head. "Oh, all right… once there was this kid who everybody picked on 'cause he was diff'rent from them." He looked up at his teacher for approval.

"That's very good, Elmer. Please continue…"

"Ok. And one day they all picked on him, especially this one girl who wouldn't 'pologize and he got real mad and turned into a BIG MONSTER!" 

He'd looked right at Buttercup when he said it, but she didn't notice. Harry and Mitch both made raspberry sounds and Julie groaned audibly.

"Oh, brother!" Blossom said, beginning to wave her hands for emphasis. "Elmer, you're talking about yourself! We already KNOW that! You're supposed to make something up!"

"Yeah, that wasn't scary!" Mitch rasped. "The only fraidy cat was you, paste-eater!"

The Floyjoydsen boys picked right up on that and mocked Elmer, but Bubbles said, "I was scared!"

Ms. Keane said, "Elmer, you certainly scared me, and it scares me now to even think about it!"

"Yeah," Julie agreed, smirking at Mitch. "YOU looked pretty scared when Elmer stuck you on the flagpole!"

"Yeah, Elmer, that was cool!" Harry laughed. 

Elmer smiled a big smile and looked at Buttercup. "And it was cool when you hit the school bus, Buttercup, you looked like a bomb when you were falling! Buttercup?"

She hadn't done a thing but shove another s'more in her mouth, chew and stare into the flames. "I'm listening…" 

"She's like a zombie." Floyd said. 

Bubbles shrieked, "A zombie!" and jumped to her feet and began to walk stiff-legged, giggling while she did it. Blossom grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to a sitting position.

"Bubbles, why don't you go next?" Ms. Keane told the excitable 'Puff.

"But the only scary stuff I know is things that happened to us that you guys already know about!" she whined.

Julie, sitting next to her, said, "Aw, c'mon, you girls have seen things nobody would believe. There has to be SOMETHING you could make up a story from!"

Bubbles thought for a minute. "Weeeelll…..there WAS this one time….it was the middle of the night, and I heard this awful noise that woke me up. I said, 'Blossom? Buttercup? Did you hear that?' But only Buttercup woke up, and she told me to shut up an' go to sleep, but then I heard it again and it went 'ooooahhOWWWeeeeeeohAHHH!!!' Buttercup jumped out of bed and yelled 'What was that?' and she put the light on and we both said, 'Blossom! What's that noise?'"

She turned to look at her sister, and said in a low voice. "Only you weren't there!"

Blossom frowned and said, "I don't remember this! I thought you said you couldn't make up stuff, Bubbles!"

"Yes, Bubbles, this is very good so far, please go on!" Ms. Keane urged. The other children looked very interested in hearing Bubbles' tale.

"But I'm not makin' it up! Oh, well," she shrugged. "So, then Buttercup says, 'Where's that Blossom at?' and I said 'I dunno.' And Buttercup says, 'Well, we better go check it out. It sounded like it was comin' from the lab!'"

"I never heard nothing like that before! I got real worried 'cause what if it was some monster that got the Professor? An' Blossom too, 'cause if she was okay then we wouldn't be hearing those noises. So we started to go down there real careful 'cause we didn't want whatever it was gettin' us either. The noise kept getting louder and it hurt my ears. Buttercup looked at me and said, 'This is bad, Bubbles, whatever's down there is makin' the worst noise I ever heard.' We almost got to the door of the lab, and then we heard the Professor screaming."

Bubbles paused for effect. She had a good, natural sense for drama, even if she didn't know it. The other kids' attention was riveted on her, except for Buttercup, who sat with a fixed stare. Blossom wondered just where the heck Bubbles had invented this one from. It was pretty good.

"Bubbles! Don't keep us in suspense!"

Bubbles stared at Blossom, then slowly looked around the fire. "Buttercup broke the door down." she said quietly. "It was awful. Professor was sitting at his desk holding his hands over his ears." Her voice rose suddenly in pitch and volume, imitating the Professor. 

"'Stop it!' he screamed. 'I can't take any more!' It was terrible! The screeching! The howling! Whatever it was, it was scarier than anything we'd ever seen and Blossom wasn't there to help us!"

She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Then we saw why." She jumped, causing everyone else to jump, too. "It had Blossom!" she screeched. "That's why Blossom couldn't yell or do anything, because it had her! It was a big, fat black snake-monster with all kinds of weird little arms sticking out of it, and it was in Blossom's mouth, tryin' to strangle her! But she was wearin' headphones and must've never heard it sneakin' up on her! It was so awful! It made even worse noises and we flew at it and Professor screamed again even louder for it to stop, and then Blossom took her headphones off and screamed, too! And that made the snake stop attackin' her and be quiet!"

"What did I say?" Blossom asked excitedly, her breath coming in short gasps. "What did I say?"

"You yelled, 'What's everybody yelling for? I can't hear myself think!' 

"Huh?"

"You were practicin' with your clarinet, Blossom! It's the worst thing I EVER heard!"

She burst into a fit of wild giggling. The other kids, stunned by the sudden switch from horror to comedy, didn't know how to react, but when Ms. Keane laughed hysterically, putting her hands over her mouth, they began to chuckle, then laugh louder. They still weren't sure why they were laughing. Bubbles had given them a good scare.

"Bubbles, that was a MARVELOUS story!" her teacher congratulated her. "What a twist at the end!"

"Heh heh, yeah!" Blossom said, her blushing once again concealed by the dark. "That was a GREAT story, Bubbles!"

"But…" Bubbles began to protest that it wasn't a story, but a quick kick in the leg from Blossom shushed her. Blossom's embarrassment at the time of the incident had caused her to push it way back in her mind and she never had a clue as to what Bubbles was telling. But now she remembered it well and knew Buttercup would, too. Her sister had rolled on the floor once she realized what was going on, and wouldn't shut up about it for days. Blossom stole a glance Buttercup's way, knowing she'd see a huge smirk, and saw only a tiny curl of Buttercup's lips. That amazed her. What the heck kind of story did she have in mind to be so focused like this? 

Everyone had been so spellbound by Bubbles that they forgot to eat their snacks, and the sudden relief of having their figurative collars let go gave them a burst of energy and they toasted, put together and ate their gooey confections. Harry wiped a smear of melted chocolate and marshmallow on his shirt and Julie inched even closer to Bubbles. 

"Ok, who wants to go next?" Ms. Keane asked. No one volunteered. "All right, I'll pick someone. Since you just went, Bubbles, we'll go clockwise. We'll start with you, Blossom."

"No!" she began to protest, but saw that Ms. Keane was only starting the 'eeny-meeny-miney-moe, catch a villain by the toe' routine with her. She breathed a sigh of relief. It quickly turned into a gasp when she saw where it was going to wind up, with everyone but her zombie-like sister pointing at her and shouting "YOU!"

"Ohhhhh", she groaned. "I don't have one ready!"

"Now, Blossom." Keane looked at her. "Look how well Bubbles did when she didn't think she could."

She was bummed. She liked to deal with the real world, real problems and real solutions. The fantasy world didn't interest her all that much. If she'd had more time to think, it would have dawned on her that having a good imagination could help in finding creative solutions to real problems, but right now she was just worried about embarrassing herself.

"I'll go next, Ms. Keane." Julie Bean spoke up suddenly.

"Really? Thanks, Julie!" Blossom smiled at the red-haired girl, then looked at her teacher to see if it was okay.

"Go right ahead, Julie," she smiled, then looked at Blossom. "But it doesn't let you off the hook, Blossom. Everybody 's going to have a turn tonight…" she hunched her shoulders like an old crone, cast her gaze around the fire and cackled, "…if it's the last thing they do! Hahahahahaha!!"

Everyone jumped a bit, and Keane smiled and returned to normal. "Please begin, Julie."

"Okay. Let's see…once upon a time there was this little boy. He lived all alone with his Mommy and Daddy in a big city, but he didn't have any friends. When he wanted to know why he couldn't go outside and play with the other little boys and girls in the neighborhood, they told him it was because he was very special and they didn't want him getting hurt, like often happens to little kids. But he would look out the windows at the other children running and laughing and having fun and it made him sad. He wondered if any of them had mirrors everywhere all over the place in their houses like he did. He asked his parents why about that, too."

"'Mommy, why do we have mirrors everywhere?'"

Julie tried to make her voice sound older. " 'Because you are so very beautiful and special, dear, that we want you to be able to always see just how beautiful and special you are.'"

"That made him smile, because he could see in the mirrors that he was. He had perfect pale skin, golden hair and eyes that were the deepest blue, just like the sky was tonight after the sun went down. But he still wondered what the world was like on the outside. His Mommy was always home with him, so he never got to go out by himself. He could go out to play if one of them was with him and they took him into town all the time, but they always made him put on a disguise first. It was so the sun wouldn't hurt his beautiful skin, his Mommy told him."

__

"Wow, this is good!" thought Blossom and Bubbles at the same time. Buttercup remained in her trance-like state. Ms. Keane was impressed herself and looked around to see how the boys were reacting. Elmer and Harry both seemed to be paying attention, but the twins sat slack-jawed as usual, and Mitch smirked slightly.

Julie continued with her tale. "One day the little boy was left alone when his Mommy went to the neighbor's house for just a minute. It was his chance to find out what it was like to be outdoors in the sun without his disguise on, so he opened the door and ran out…"

"And the sun shriveled him up into a raisin!" Mitch interrupted. Julie was too shocked to be angry but Blossom, Bubbles and Ms. Keane let Mitch know they didn't like it. Julie was so disheartened she didn't want to go on, but after Harry and Elmer both added to the others' encouragement, she finally did.

"So the little boy ran outside. It was a beautiful sunny day and he was so happy that he ran toward the playground where he hoped some of the other children would be playing. When he got there the swings were full and so was all the other stuff, so he went over by a group of kids by the slide. All of a sudden the kids started screaming, 'A monster!', and they ran away. The little boy looked around for the monster but all he saw was the children running. Then more kids started screaming and pointing toward him. He was real confused and turned around but the monster wasn't behind him, either."

'Hey, where are you all going?' he yelled, but none of them stopped to tell him. They just kept running and screaming and in a minute, he was all by himself. Without anybody to play with it wasn't any fun so he left the playground and walked toward downtown. Every time he walked past someone they either screamed and pointed or ran back in their houses or shops. But every time he turned around the monster wasn't there. He started to get scared. It kept hiding and he just knew whatever it was, it was going to get him. So he turned around and ran back toward his house. 

'Get it!' some of the townspeople yelled. 'Get the monster!', and they started to run after him. He was glad they were going to help him, but he didn't understand why they could see the monster but he couldn't. He ran past the old-fashioned barber shop and when he did, he saw his reflection in the mirror out front. It was him! He was the monster! He had green skin like a lizard and it was all bumpy and his eyes were big like a frog's and he didn't have any hair. He had flippers with claws instead of hands and feet and his shoes were gone. He wasn't the little boy he always thought he saw in the mirrors in his house, and he knew why. Those were special mirrors so he wouldn't think he was a monster, and that's why he always had to go outside with a disguise. He started to cry and he ran as fast as he could toward home, but more and more people started chasing him and yelling at him. Some of them even had sticks to hit him with if they caught him and other people threw stones at him."

Now, even the twins were paying attention. Bubbles' hands were to her mouth in fear of what was going to happen to the poor little monster-boy.

"He ran faster and faster, and pretty soon he could see his house, and his Mommy was outside screaming for him to run, to hurry up and get inside the house. A rock hit him in the leg and he almost fell but he kept going and got to his door. His mother pulled him in and slammed the door and locked it. Rocks and sticks hit the outside of the house and the boy and his mother heard the people shouting, 'Let us in!' and 'Monster!' and other real mean things. The boy's Mommy took him in her arms and tried to get him to stop crying, but he was so afraid the people were going to get him. He looked around at all the mirrors and saw just what he thought he would. He looked like the same perfect little boy he always thought he was, until that morning. He pointed at his reflection.

'Mommy, why do those mirrors make me look different than I really am?'

'They don't, dear, that's how you look.'" Julie said, in the older voice.

"'But Mommy, I really AM a monster! I saw it!'

'No you're not, you're my beautiful little boy and I love you!'

The people outside were getting louder and trying to break the door in.

'Mommy, why do I look different in this mirror but you look the same?'

Before she could tell him, the door crashed open and people came in screaming, waving sticks. 'Get him!' they all yelled.

'Stop!' the boy's mother shouted. 'Stop, and look at yourselves!'

The yelling people looked at the mother holding her little scared lizard-boy, and looked in the mirrors on the walls. What they all saw was the same lady holding a beautiful, terrified little boy with perfect skin, golden hair and deep blue eyes. They also saw a house full of hideous creatures, worse than anything we ever had in Townsville, and they were holding sticks and drooling and worse. 

The mother squeezed her little boy tighter and told the people, 'These are special mirrors that show us what we really look like on the inside. Sometimes we don't like what we see, but it's always the truth.'

The people were ashamed of themselves and they all said they were sorry and went home. They told their children the lesson they had learned and whenever their kids were bad, they had to go to the little boy's house to see what THEY really looked like. And from that day on, the little boy never had to wear a disguise again and he could run and play and have fun outside with all his new friends, and everyone lived happily ever after. The end."

"Bravo!" Ms. Keane cried, clapping her hands. "Julie, that was WONDERFUL!"

Blossom and Bubbles both applauded too, and Elmer, Harry and even the twins, to a lesser degree, followed suit. Mitch just sat there, playing with the edge of the fire with his stick.

Blossom wiped away a tear. _"I can't do anything that good!"_ Bubbles leaned over and gave Julie a hug. There were tears in her eyes, too.

"Thanks, everybody." Julie said, a bit embarrassed.

"Ah, gee, everybody's gettin' mushy!" Mitch griped. "We're supposed to be scarin' each other, not tellin' stories with stupid morals!"

"What's wrong with a good moral?" Blossom shot back. The fire was dying down, so she floated up and over to the woodpile next to Harry to re-stoke the fire, eyeing Mitch with disgust.

"Now, Mitch," Ms. Keane chided. "I think we all felt how scared that little boy was. I certainly did. And Julie's story also teaches an important lesson, that we should judge people for what they are, not what they look like."

"You don't know the half of it." Buttercup whispered. Heads turned to look at her and saw her face glistening with tears, but her eyes never moved from the flames.

Blossom laid sticks in the fire, wondering, _"What IS she thinking about?"_

"Buttercup, you're so quiet tonight. Are you OK?" her teacher inquired. She got barely a nod in the affirmative. "Are you ready to tell yours?"

"Not yet…" came the quiet monotone. "…soon…it will be time…"

  



	3. Ch 3

****

"Area 52"

* * *

By I am a good fighter

Powerpuff Girls created by Craig McCracken and all characters associated with the show are owned by Cartoon Network

  
  
  


**THREE**

  


It was nearly quarter to ten and the stars were out in full force. So were the crickets. Their chirping filled the quiet moments, along with the snapping and crackling of burning wood. The area around the group was bathed in the fire's glow, but that light rapidly faded into shadows the further away from the fire it fell. On each cabin, a mercury light on the outside wall near the door threw its rays out onto the grassy areas, but that light also faded into darkness. The end result was that the places where the mowed areas met the forest's edge could not be seen anymore. This added an extra sense of creepiness to the setting. It was heightened further by an occasional 'thump' from the woods, as some unseen animal ran about in there. Every now and then an owl would hoot, contributing even more to the spooky atmosphere. 

The feeling was broken temporarily by the twins' feeble attempt at storytelling. The only thing scary about their stupid and fumbling tale of a three-headed dog, in which one of the heads was always trying to eat the other two, was in the way it was told. Not in any dramatic sense that inspired terror, but that when one twin would stop speaking, the other would pick right up where his brother left off without missing a beat. That they could do that so smoothly, as if they could read each other's minds (as twins often seem to do); yet have it turn out so badly, was indeed frightening. Other than that, it was so pointless that most of the other kids laughed. Blossom rolled her eyes, but a look from Ms. Keane told her to stop that. Mercifully and without embarrassing them, Ms. Keane put end to the twins' story.

Harry went next and told a halfway scary story about a robot that turned on his master and the rest of the world. Even though that idea had been seen many times in movies and books, he made it a little different by finding a way to work his favorite subject, dirt, into the resolution. The robot had tried to turn the world into a spotless paradise, but when the people embraced dirt as their savior, the robot was defeated. The boys liked it better than the girls, but Ms. Keane told him he did a very good job, and Blossom also praised him out loud, which earned her a toothy smile. Buttercup still had no reaction.

Ms. Keane then turned to the three who had yet to have their turns. "We still need stories from Blossom, Buttercup and Mitch. Who wants to…"

"I'll go next, Ms. Keane." Blossom said. She had to get it over with sooner or later. Her tale was that of a young boy who one Monday found himself being followed home from school by a pretty little girl. There was something very strange about her. She didn't smile or frown. In fact, her facial expression never changed at all. And she never said a word. She just kept staring at the boy. When he would ask her why she kept staring at him like that, she remained silent. When he got home, he ran inside to get away from her. He looked out the window and there she stood on the sidewalk in front of his house, just staring. Finally, when he checked later, she was gone. But the next morning when he left for school, there she was again. She followed him to school and home again, every day all that week; but in all that time she never spoke a word. But what was the strangest thing of all was the girl's eyes. Instead of having a single pupil, each eye had two and one was larger than the other. They were like eggs with two yolks. Those strange, creepy eyes just kept staring at him, and though the girl was very pretty it was starting to drive him crazy. That, and that she wouldn't talk, smile or anything to make you think there was a person inside.

Then, on Friday afternoon, after she had followed him home, it happened. He crossed the street to get to his house, leaving her behind like always. He turned to look at her and suddenly, she smiled at him for the first time and started to cross the street. But she didn't notice that a car was speeding toward her. He called out to her to watch out, but she just kept smiling and walking. Time seemed frozen. The girl, the car. The girl, the car. The car that didn't seem to notice her and wasn't honking or slowing down. What should he do? He had to save her, even if it meant seeing those weird eyes forever. He ran out to push her to safety just as the car was almost to her, but suddenly something whooshed past him, knocking him and the girl out of the way. The car sped on by, never stopping or even bothering to slow down, and when he picked himself up, there stood a little boy about his size. The boy helped the girl to her feet, and that's when the first boy saw that the new boy's eyes were just like the girl's. Just like them. The two smiled at each other, took each other by the hand, and walked away, never looking back at the first boy. It had been the new boy she had been smiling at, not him. As he watched them walk away, they simply vanished into nothingness, leaving him to wonder just what it had all been about. 

Blossom said she was finished.

"Uh, that was an interesting story, Blossom, and sort of creepy," Ms. Keane said, "but it does leave a lot of questions unanswered. You need to tell it in a way that doesn't leave us guessing."

"Uh, I'm not really sure…"

"She can't, Ms. Keane." Bubbles interrupted. "I didn't get it either, but that's sorta like how it happened on 'Dexter's Lab' the other week."

Blossom gasped and looked at her sister in shock. Julie looked at Bubbles, too. "Hey, yeah, I knew I saw something like that someplace!"

Ms. Keane was very surprised and whipped her head to stare at her top student. "Blossom, is this true? You got that from television?"

"Yes, Ms. Keane," she answered, hanging her head in shame. Then she looked up. "I told you I was no good at makin' things up."

"That's ok, Blossom." Julie tried consoling. "It was a little different. I don't remember the part about almost getting run over."

"Yeah, it's like you put in the part about saving the day!" Bubbles said. Scratching her head, she added, "I'm just not sure who saved it…"

"There, Blossom!" her teacher said. "You did change it a little to make it your own. Goodness, the things they put on these days for you kids to watch!"

"Hey Blossom? I never saw it, and I liked it! Man, those eyes sounded weird!" Elmer told her.

"Yeah, I don't ever wanna see eyes like that!" Harry agreed. 

"Yeah, yours are bad enough!" Mitch rasped, grinning at Blossom. She immediately scowled, her arms stiffening in anger, and she was joined in this by Bubbles.

"Mitchell!" Ms. Keane scolded the boy for the second time. Then a loud snap was heard, and all heads turned to see Buttercup holding a broken stick. Her right hand reached next to her for a new stick from the pile she had gathered. Her green eyes flashed for just a second at Mitch, but then her attention was back on the flames. 

"Mitchell, you know better than to make a comment like that." Ms. Keane frowned. "Now, I think it's your turn." 

Mitch grinned at the two Powerpuffs who were still scowling at him and noticed Julie doing the same.

__

"Stupid girls all stick together. Ah, well at least Buttercup'll like mine!" 

"My story is about a vampire named Count Goo from Snotsylvania."

"Oh, brother!" Blossom snorted, and looked at Bubbles and Julie.

"Now, Blossom…" her teacher said to quiet her.

"He wasn't like other vampires 'cause his skin was green instead of white. An' his skin was all green because he didn't drink blood like other vampires do. He would sneak up on people in Snotsylvania when they were asleep at night and drink their boogers!"

"Oh, GROSS!" Blossom said loudly. Bubbles and Julie looked horrified, but the boys reacted just the opposite. Elmer grinned, Harry chuckled and the Floyjoydsen boys cackled like hens while their leader grinned.

"Mitch, that is really uncalled for!" Ms. Keane said sharply, her hands on her hips. "If you can't tell a nice…"

"Hey, it's easier than havin' Count Goo pick everybody's noses!" Mitch said and laughed, drawing more laughter from the other boys.

Blossom pointed across the fire. "If you picked YOUR nose, your head would cave in!"

Bubbles, shocked at first by the outburst, began to giggle.

"Oh yeah?" Mitch fired back. "At least I have a nose!"

All of the other children except Blossom and Buttercup drew a sharp breath.

"Oh, that's it!" Blossom shouted, standing up.

"Mitch Mitchellson!" Ms. Keane barked. "You apologize right this instant!"

Blossom acted like she didn't hear it. "Mitchell," she said in a low voice, "you know darn well that we have noses. They just don't stick out like all of yours do."

Bubbles reached up to touch the small, barely noticeable bump that was her nose, as if to reassure herself that she still had one. Nostrils weren't needed because smells could pass right through the skin to the working part, the olfactory gland, which lay just below the surface, and oxygen could be breathed and taken to the lungs the same way.

"You know that," Blossom continued, "because we let all of you touch them back on our first day of school so you could see we weren't that different from you. And our ears, too, you know they're just on the inside…"

"Auditory ports."

It was Buttercup's voice, low and emotionless. It got everyone's surprised attention, Blossom's in particular.

"They're auditory ports." she repeated, a bit louder but still looking straight ahead. "We don't have ears."

"What are you talking about, Buttercup?" Blossom demanded.

"We don't have noses, either." Buttercup said to the flames. "They're called proboscises."

"What?! They are not! Professor told us a long time ago that we do too have noses and ears!"

"He wouldn't be the one to know that. I know."

"What do you mean, you know?" Blossom said, looking down at her sister, her voice rising. "Buttercup, you've been acting weird all night. What's wrong with you?"

The sudden exchange between the two sisters held the others in fascination, even Bubbles, because Buttercup was not being Buttercup. An argument would never find her speaking in a cool, reasoned manner. It was like something had taken control of her body. Bubbles felt a chill run down her back.

Buttercup tilted her head back and looked up to the sky. She sat there staring silently.

"Buttercup?" Bubbles squeaked.

"Buttercup, please say something!" Blossom pleaded, her heart pounding. The other kids' faces showed various open-mouthed expressions. Something was wrong with the dark-haired Powerpuff. A Buttercup story would include lots of punching and guts and other not-too-nice stuff. Mitch still couldn't believe she didn't laugh at the booger-sucking Count Goo.

Her teacher leaned across Elmer and lightly touched her arm. "Buttercup?" she said softly.

"Aren't the stars beautiful tonight?" the girl said, giving everyone a start. Her head remained tipped back, and the voice stayed low. "I miss them." A tear trickled down her right cheek.

"You miss the stars?" Blossom asked incredulously. "We can go see them anytime we want!"

"No, Blossom!" Bubbles whispered, touching her sister's right leg. Blossom looked down and Bubbles said quietly, "I think she misses someBODY!"

Blossom's eyes opened wide and she sat, very close to Bubbles. "Who do you miss, Buttercup?" the blue-eyed girl asked softly.

Buttercup lowered her head and made eye contact with her sisters first, then looked around the fire, her gaze briefly resting upon each of the others. Her voice was the voice they all knew, but she sounded strangely older as she began to tell her story.

  



	4. Ch 4

****

"Area 52"

* * *

By I am a good fighter

Powerpuff Girls created by Craig McCracken and all characters associated with the show are owned by Cartoon Network

  
  
  


**FOUR**

  


"Their names were L'irpa and H'cram." she began. "They came in peace. They were from a very old race, one that outdates life as we know it on Earth by ten million years. For nearly all of that time, this race searched the galaxies for life other than their own, for beings like themselves who had the ability and the desire to learn the mysteries of the universe. For others with which to share what they already knew. But above all, for others, like themselves, with the capacity to love, unconditionally, all life, no matter how different from the only existence they knew. And they finally thought they had found it."

__

"Whoa, this is NICE!" Blossom thought. _"But it's not her style AT ALL!"_

"You see, this was a VERY advanced civilization. Technology we here on Earth can only dream about. Cameras that can read the name on that bag of marshmallows. Listening devices that can hear you sweating. They observed, and observed and observed some more. Then one day, they found life. This life they discovered was very primitive. This planet's people were a violent people, but somewhat intelligent, and had shown remarkable advancement in the time they had been studied. Wars were still fought, but as each century passed, the people on this planet moved toward the concept of freedom for all that the old, old race had accepted long ago. Finally, there arose a nation, a new nation born of that spirit of freedom. And though a terrible war would be fought to achieve that ideal, this was the sign that they had been searching for. A decision was made to send a scout ship, to actually place some of their own amongst the citizens of this new nation, to see if that same concept of freedom for and equality of all, would be extended to those unlike themselves."

The twins had decided that this was too boring for them and were leaning against one another, droopy-eyed. Ms. Keane unfolded a blanket that was lying behind her and eased the boys back onto it so they could sleep. Buttercup paused patiently. The other children couldn't take their eyes off her. Blossom shivered, knowing that the old Buttercup would've thrown a fit if anyone even remotely suggested that she was dull.

"L'irpa and H'cram, being among the most intelligent, were chosen to make the trip. They were the two judged best qualified to make the all-important first contact. It would take nearly two centuries in the time of their destination, but for them, the trip would only last for a little over five months. It was this compression of that new world's history that made it seem like the people there were making advancements, but in reality, change was happening much slower than it appeared. For some of the most horrific things ever done by this planet's people to their own people, were done only a few years before L'irpa and H'cram arrived there. It was that miscalculation, combined with the failure of their ship's communications system shortly after launch, that prevented letting their leaders tell them to come back, that now wasn't the time. It cost them their lives."

"They died?" a very shocked Julie asked. The other kids' mouths fell open, even Mitch's.

"That's who you miss…" Bubbles said softly, tears forming in her eyes.

Her sister looked directly at her and wiped away her own tears. "Yes, Bubbles." 

Blossom leaned into Bubbles and whispered, "Bubbles, this is just a story. They aren't real."

"I don't know, Blossom, they sound real to me."

"Yeah, well she hasn't said what they looked like or what their ship looked like or…"

She was interrupted by Buttercup suddenly standing. She had her stick in her left hand. 

"I don't need to. Everyone already knows."

Blossom's mouth fell open, too.

"They arrived on Earth in 1947. It was on a night much like tonight, in early July, when their landing rockets failed and they crashed in the field of a sheep farmer in New Mexico."

She pointed with the stick, tracing an arc across the sky to simulate a space ship's trajectory, then turned in a southeasterly direction to indicate where New Mexico was, from Townsville.

"Back on their home planet billions of miles away," she pointed in the general direction of the moon, which had climbed several degrees into the low southern sky, "the leader of the project, R'oyam, knew they were in trouble. Though he couldn't communicate with L'irpa and H'cram, he could see and hear everything. What he saw and heard was too awful to describe, but when the dust from the crash settled, the project team knew it was bad. Lying in the wreckage of their ship in that field, L'irpa was leaning over H'cram, holding his head. She looked up at the sky, knowing her people could see and hear."

Buttercup walked around behind Elmer and Ms. Keane, so that the two had to turn their heads to see her. Her voice maintained its flat tone. 

"L'irpa, like all the rest, was trained to keep her emotions in check no matter what, so she just stated the facts."

Buttercup's voice dropped an octave. "'R'oyam, H'cram's dead. I am hurt very badly and this world does not have the skill or knowledge to help me. R'oyam, we may die but please don't let this dream die with us. Hopefully, the people of this world will discover us and read our message of peace and love. You can observe and when you feel the time is right, try again.'"

Her voice returned to normal. "L'irpa didn't know what R'oyam did, about the things that happened on this world during the hundred and sixty Earth years since she and H'cram had left their home. There had been progress, but the two great wars of this century and the terrible slaughter of millions just because they were different, told R'oyam and his team that Earth was not ready yet. But he did not have the heart to tell L'irpa that."

_"Buttercup knows about the Holocaust?"_ Blossom thought. She looked at her sister in wonder. She thought she was the only one of them who cared about history and what it meant.

Her sister went on with the story. "L'irpa gently lowered H'cram's head and laid down next to him. She took her mate's hand in hers and looked up into the sky once again." 

She lowered her voice again. "'R'oyam, promise me that you'll try again.'"

Her voice changed back to her own. "Then L'irpa closed her eyes for the last time."

Bubbles burst into tears. Blossom, even though she knew it was just a story, let a few of her own fall out.

"L'irpa was right. Many Earth people saw their ship falling through the sky. No one saw or heard it crash, but the next day a man named Brazel found the wreckage on his land. He told his neighbors about it and he also told the sheriff of the nearest town. Word quickly spread about the 'flying saucer' that had crashed on old Mac Brazel's sheep ranch. But after the Air Force came out and looked and took all the evidence away, they said what was there was nothing but a crashed weather balloon. At first, they didn't think anything about spaceships or 'flying saucers'…" She said the words somewhat derisively. "…as everyone called them back then. They thought it was something the Russians did, because the two countries were enemies in those days. But when they found H'cram's and L'irpa's bodies, they knew they were looking at something not from Earth. And that's when the cover-up started."

"What cover-up?" Mitch snorted. "All that Roswell stuff is fake! Everybody knows that!"

"Yeah!" Harry chuckled. "My Dad says they used ta' throw dummies out of airplanes!"

"Shut up, Mitchell!" Blossom pointed angrily across the fire, which was dying down. "You too, Harry!"

Harry's smile disappeared but Mitch just sneered back at Blossom, not noticing the scowls he was getting from Bubbles, Julie and his teacher. He also didn't notice that Buttercup had moved behind him. 

"So, Mitchell, you've heard of Roswell?" she said quietly. "I suppose you've heard of Area 51, then, too, hmmm?" she said, raising one eyebrow. Mitch spun around in surprise and looked up at the unsmiling face with the shadows flickering across it. 

"Uh, no…"

"Area 51 is the secret government base where the crashed spaceship and the bodies were supposedly taken, but that's all been proven to be a hoax." Blossom said.

"Yes." Buttercup replied. "The government did a wonderful job convincing everyone that it WAS just a weather balloon and crash test dummies. It was afraid. Afraid that its own citizens couldn't handle the truth. But there were a few people who knew the truth. Brazel. A few of his neighbors. Even some of the government's own people. Little bits of information leaked out. But L'irpa's and H'cram's message of peace was one that never did. The message WAS found. It was written in English, French, Spanish, German and a dozen other languages in a type of ink and on paper, both of which were foreign to Earth. It remains to this day, sealed in its original container, in a bunker a mile below the New Mexico desert. Area 51 is real."

_"No it isn't!"_ Blossom said to herself, looking at her sister with growing uncertainty. _"Is it?"_

Mitch began to get the creeps because the Buttercup he knew would have grabbed him by the shirt for interrupting her. Buttercup walked slowly around the circle, causing heads to turn to look up at her.

"One thing that isn't true is the part about the alien autopsies. L'irpa and H'cram were buried in the desert in a place only the U.S. government and their own people back home know the location of. The rumors about the autopsies were started by one of the government team who didn't like the facts being hidden and wanted to discredit his own agency. He believed enough other evidence would come out to force the government to eventually tell the truth. Enough did come out to create the legend we all know today, but his plan failed. The cover-up held and unfortunately, so has that rumor."

Ms. Keane watched in amazement the little girl whose demeanor had so drastically changed, and the way the other children were responding to her fascinating tale. Buttercup stopped near her original spot and looked down into her sisters' faces.

"R'oyam and his team learned several things from this. The government of the United States wasn't evil, just fearful and a bit backwards. It didn't trust the intelligence of its own people. And as the rumors of things both true and false got out, an interest among the people in things otherworldly began to take hold. Their fear of the unknown was mixed with a desire to know more, and the team could tell that, if they did it right, Earth would be capable of dealing with them. Earth's space programs were being born right around then, and this was even more proof to R'oyam that L'irpa's and H'cram's lives had not been lost in vain. Perhaps it was their very mission that had fueled this desire to begin exploring space. L'irpa's dying wish was granted, and the team began to look for a way to try again."

Bubbles smiled a small, hopeful smile up at her sister and Buttercup returned it. Then Buttercup floated to what was left of the wood, picked it up and began feeding it into the fire, standing between Harry and Julie while she talked. When she was done, she floated back to her spot and sat cross-legged, concentrating on the flames once more. Elmer, on her left, stared at her, awe-struck.

"It was the late 1950's on Earth by now. R'oyam looked for a place where the people were less suspicious and more naïve. This would be the best place to try, for people like that would be more open to contact. It needed to be run by someone who was simple-minded yet pure of heart, for the people of that place would be like that themselves or they would never accept that sort of leadership in the first place. He finally found such a place, and borrowing from the U.S. government's own system of secrecy, the team named the location for its next attempt 'Area 52'". 

The fire burned with renewed vigor now, and Buttercup's gaze was once again upon it.

"The team knew they had the right means to go about making contact this time. This plan would take the slower approach, building up the Earth people's trust to show that no harm was meant to them, and at the same time, teach them about accepting others who were different. They worked feverishly, because time was something they didn't have a lot of. This plan had to be developed soon because, you see, to them, ten Earth years was like ten of their days. Once they had the right place, they had to find the right person. And when the team believed they had the right person, another scout ship was sent to put in place one of their own, to watch over this person, but more importantly, to be in place to help guide the others who would be sent later. But this time, instead of sending an adult, they sent a newly hatched young one, fresh out of her cocoon."

"What?!" Blossom shouted.

"You mean they're BUGS?!" Bubbles shrieked.

"Yes."

Ms. Keane's hands flew to her chest. "Oh, my!" 

Bubbles and Julie recoiled in horror, bumping into each other. Elmer looked just as startled but Mitch and Harry liked this sudden twist.

"Bugs, heh, cool!" Harry said.

"Whoa, that is totally awesome, Buttercup!" Mitch exclaimed.

Buttercup looked across the fire at him and grinned very slightly. "I thought you might enjoy that, Mitchell." Then she turned serious. "But they don't like to be referred to as 'bugs'. They're humanoid insects. You've all seen pictures of what the aliens supposedly look like. Long hairless heads, large eyes, humanlike…" her eyes swept the circle. There were a few nods. "That is pretty much what L'irpa and H'cram and all their people look like as adults. They have arms and legs, just like humans do, but what you never saw, what the government was too afraid to let ANYONE find out, were the wings. Long wings that fold flat across the back. And the proboscises, which were airbrushed out of the photos because they appeared just too frightening."

_"Proboscises…didn't I hear that word once already tonight?"_ Blossom wondered, missing part of what Buttercup was saying.

"It takes about two weeks for the new one to grow to full adulthood after breaking free from the cocoon, but in Earth time, that is about fourteen years. She was sent here, disguised as a human child, to wait for the time when the ones she was to guide would arrive."

"Is she here now?" Julie asked in a whisper.

"Yes, she arrived in Area 52 safely and her ship remains well-hidden to this day. But I cannot give you her name. The time for her to reveal herself will be soon, and then Earth will know the truth. You see, her role was a very important one. The mission could not succeed without her. Yet, she had little to do except just grow, in her disguise, as a human adult, learning the ways of human life by living among them. And to watch the human that R'oyam and the team had chosen to help them, without his awareness; and pass helpful information back to her home planet. She has remained in contact with them for over forty Earth years."

"She must be terribly homesick." her teacher remarked. 

"Not really. For her, it's only been a little over a month."

"How long do these things live?" Blossom asked, confused by the time difference.

Buttercup looked sharply at her sister and her voice turned cool. "I would think that you might show more sensitivity, Blossom, than to call them 'things'."

Instantly chagrined, Blossom hung her head. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, just because they're bugs is no reason to be mean." Bubbles said.

"It's all right, Bubbles, it's a typically human response, and one I expected from someone who doesn't know what I know." Buttercup replied. "But to answer Blossom's question, they live a long time in Earth years. R'oyam himself is a bit over four years old, or about fifteen hundred Earth years."

"Whooooaaaa!" came several voices.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, Buttercup." Blossom told her. "Please keep going. The 'others' you talked about, are they here yet?"

"Yes, I was getting to that next. More than thirty Earth years went by, during which the behavior of the human they had chosen told the team they were right about him. Everything he was doing seemed to be leading to the day they had waited for. And finally one day, the next step of the plan was put into effect. Three eggs were carefully selected back on the home planet, and were placed in stasis to survive the daylong trip to Earth. Or about a year here." she added, seeing the question on several faces. "Their tiny ship touched down at the pre-arranged spot and their guide was waiting for them. She was by now a full-grown adult and was living as a human in the place called Area 52. With the careful observation done by the team, she of course knew everything the unsuspecting human was going to do, and she was ready. The eggs were carefully placed in a batch of ingredients that the human, a scientist, had been planning to conduct for years. It was an experiment doomed to failure, because the idea was so ridiculous that it could never work. But he would never know that, for when the time for the experiment came, the eggs would hatch into the larvae that Professor Utonium would believe were the three little girls he created."

Everyone looked at her in shocked silence.

"Yes, Area 52 is Townsville."

  



	5. Ch 5

****

"Area 52"

* * *

By I am a good fighter

Powerpuff Girls created by Craig McCracken and all characters associated with the show are owned by Cartoon Network

  
  
  


**FIVE**

  


"Eeeeeek!" Bubbles shouted. "I'm a larva!"

Julie jumped, too. Blossom, on the other hand, crossed her arms and scowled at her sister.

"Very funny, Buttercup! All that suspense for something stupid!"

But she thought it strange that her sister wasn't cracking up at the gag she'd pulled, as was typical of her. Buttercup was famous for her practical jokes and laughed louder than anyone when they worked. Elmer and Ms. Keane were both laughing.

The teacher stood up. "Goodness, Buttercup, what a story! I'll be right back, children, I'm just going to get s'more s'mores!" 

She dashed off with the empty platter, toward the cabin. Mitch and Harry were in hysterics, rolling on the ground. Mitch was holding his stomach, his eyes shut.

"Ahahahaha!! That was great, Buttercup, you Powerpuff Girls're bugs! Hahahahaha!!"

The twins woke suddenly and sat up, rubbing their eyes. "Duh, what'd I miss?" Lloyd said.

"Aw, man, you missed the freakiest story ever! Buttercup, you rock!" 

He opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he saw. The laughing had stopped. Buttercup stood, scowling at everyone, who looked back at her in surprise.

"Go ahead, laugh! LAUGH!" It was the first real emotion she'd shown all evening, and everyone's jaws dropped. She began to walk around the circle rapidly, as if she were stalking an enemy, stopping at each of the others, pausing to point and snarl at them.

"Why aren't you laughing?" she said to the twins. "What'sa matter, Mitch?" She gave him a shove. "It was funny a minute ago!" He turned white and looked around for somewhere to escape to, but she moved on. "Would someone please explain the joke to me?" she said in a more pleasant tone as she stood between Harry and Julie. "I seem to have missed it." They cringed.

When she got between her sisters, she looked down at them. Bubbles had curled herself into a fetal position with Blossom's arms wrapped around her protectively. 

"YOU!" she shouted, pointing at them. "C'mon, laugh some more, maybe I'll get it this time!"

"But I didn't laugh!" Bubbles cried. "You scared me! We're not larvas!"

"Buttercup, that's enough! You're scaring her! Stop it! You got so wrapped up in that stupid story of yours that now you're starting to scare ME!"

"Stupid, is it?" Buttercup said quietly.

"Let it go!"

"I can't. You don't know the whole truth yet."

"Buttercup, give it a rest, ok? You had us all fooled, but to make us think we're really aliens and that the Professor didn't make us, now I'm startin' to get mad!"

"Blossom, Professor Utonium couldn't make three little girls any more than he could make the sun set in the east."

"No!" Bubbles screamed. "Don't you talk about him like that!"

Buttercup sighed and took her seat. She was now talking only to her sisters; it was like the others had simply vanished.

"Girls, why do you think we look like this, huh? We're NOT human. But in our larval form we ALMOST look that way, so R'oyam and the team knew we would have the best chance of fitting in with the people here. And it worked."

"Buttercup, this is going too far! If that was true, why don't me and Bubbles know about it, huh?"

"There's a couple reasons for that, Blossom. I'm the real leader of the Powerpuff Girls, not you, and I always have been since the day our guide told me what our mission was."

"That's a laugh!" Blossom said acidly. "Why you?"

Buttercup wasn't insulted. Softly, she replied, "I have a personal stake in this. L'irpa and H'cram are my mother and father. Our guide has a stake in this too, and she's the one who told me. L'irpa is her sister. I told you our eggs were selected very carefully. You see, girls, we aren't really sisters."

The other kids were speechless at the spectacle before them, at what they were hearing. No one even noticed Ms. Keane returning with a full platter of fixings. She saw something was up when Bubbles and Blossom reacted to something Buttercup had said.

Bubbles burst into tears. Blossom reacted angrily, "How could you say something so mean?"

Buttercup lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry. But it's true."

"Buttercup, if you insist on keeping on with this, fine! But I can poke so many holes in your story it'll go down like the Titanic!"

"Uh, would anyone like some s'mores?" the teacher asked, not knowing what was going on. 

Buttercup reached out for the platter. "Yes, Ms. Keane. I need this to prepare."

"Prepare for what?" Blossom demanded. "Oh yeah, you keep saying it's almost time for 'something'. I'm sure you'll clue us in."

While she spoke, Buttercup used her superpowers to make and consume s'mores as fast as she could. Eventually, the platter was empty again. Sometimes she talked while chewing, and she began to speak faster, as if she were in a hurry. She ignored Blossom's sarcasm.

"Not until you know the rest. We were sent here to blend in with everyone, to show people on Earth that we were just like they were even though we look different. As larvae, we look very much like earth children. Professor Utonium's plans were perfect. We could be his creations and that would help us fit in even more. Once people got to know us, when we came out of our cocoons they'd be more willing to accept us in our adult forms. And once they did, then they'd see that our two peoples could live together peacefully. Hopefully someday we can spread that peace to the whole universe."

"But what about our superpowers?" Bubbles asked, distressed to think it was all for nothing and might end. "What about saving the day?"

"Bubbles, our people don't have superpowers. We fly, but we need our wings for that, which we don't have yet."

"But how…?" her sisters said together.

"It was an accident. When Mojo bumped into the Professor and the Chemical X got spilled, nobody could see that coming. But it was perfect, too. We ended up with our powers, which gave the world an even better reason to accept us. And girls, we're heroes back on our home planet, too. They've been watching us. Someday soon, we'll all go there together. You'll love it, I promise."

"You've been there?" Bubbles asked in astonishment.

"Oh, yes, many times. My secret hiding place." she said with a slight grin. Each girl had a spot they would fly off to when they wanted to be alone.

"Very clever. You've got an answer for everything." Blossom said snidely. "Now, here's where I start poking holes. How did our 'eggs' get here so fast if it took 160 years for the first ship to get here, huh? Your 'leaders' wouldn't have known until after 1947 to send them, so we shouldn't be here until after 2100 and something."

"That's why I'm the leader, Blossom. To explain it to you." Blossom reddened at that.

"My parents left home in 1787, Earth time, right after the Constitutional Convention told R'oyam that humans were on the right track. He and the team later realized their mistake; that they had acted too soon. Had their communicators not failed, my parents would have returned home and they would have lived to try again. But then we wouldn't be here right now. In those 160 years, our people made great advances in propulsion technology. The trip from our world to this one now takes hours, or a few months in Earth time. That's even better than when we were sent, when it took one of our days, or a whole Earth year. You, or your eggs, I should say, were six days old when we left and you were seven days old when we got here almost six Earth years ago. It takes seven days for us to hatch into larvae. Actually, you're not quite thirteen days old."

"This is ridiculous!" Blossom spat.

"What about you?" Bubbles demanded.

"Well, I'd have to be a lot older than you, wouldn't I, if I came from my mother before she left our world 214 Earth years ago."

"Aha!" Blossom laughed. "How do you explain THAT?!" 

"Quite simple. When my egg was two days old, I was put in a special chamber that delayed my growth until my parents could come home…."

Her lower lip trembled slightly and she looked away for a moment. When she looked back, her eyes were moist. "…and when it was learned they wouldn't, I had been there for 160 Earth years and I was forgotten. When the plan to send larvae here was thought of, they remembered me, and seeing who I came from, I was an obvious choice. They left me there until your parents were selected to give eggs for the mission. Then I was taken out. So development-wise, we are about the same. Age-wise, I'm much older."

"What do you mean, ABOUT the same?" Blossom scowled. "Are you saying we AREN'T the same?"

"Not quite. You see, even though the chamber prevented from occurring the changes that cause our eggs to hatch, I still developed. My development is a bit ahead of yours. While you're not quite thirteen days old, I'm already there. Our larval stage lasts only six of our days."

"You said the egg stage lasted seven…" Blossom pondered. "What?! You mean…?"

"That's right, Blossom. My time is up. My pupal stage begins almost anytime now."

"What about us?" Bubbles said, trembling. The thought of herself as an insect frightened her, plus she knew she would be terrified of being shut up inside a cocoon. It would be awfully dark in there. 

"You will cocoon not long after I do. It's nothing to be afraid of. It's not like most insects. We don't get all icky. It's mostly just to rest and recharge. We do most of our developing AFTER we come out. It only lasts about six Earth months. That's why I needed to eat all that food."

"Are we gonna look like those aliens in the pictures?"

"Not exactly, Bubbles, and not right away. Remember, after we come out it will take another fourteen or so Earth years for us to mature into full adults, and we'll still look like we do now for awhile. But we'll grow our proboscises by then, so we won't look exactly like those pictures."

Everyone around the fire was as bug-eyed as the Powerpuffs, listening to what was going to happen to the heroes they thought they knew.

"And here's the really good part. We'll always keep our superpowers. They won't go away."

"Wait a minute, Buttercup!" Blossom broke in. "You keep talking about this message of love and peace and acceptance of those who are different, but you sure haven't lived up to it when it comes to the monsters around here."

Buttercup broke into a full grin for the first time all night. "Blossom, the day those monsters come and live with us in peace instead of smashing things is the day I'll welcome them. Until then, I'm still kicking their butts!"

Then she grew serious again and turned to the group. She stood up. 

"Hey everybody. I know this is a lot for you to accept all of a sudden like this, but it's true. Our people come in peace and we want you to think of us like you always have. Do you think you can? Even though you know how we'll really be someday?"

Blossom and Bubbles stood too, and with fearful, worried looks, faced their friends, who sat, still dazed by the events.

"Please, guys, can you?" Blossom asked.

"We'll still save the day and everything!" Bubbles promised, pleading.

"Please?!" all three pleaded, their eyes brimming with tears.

"If you can't, then our mission is a failure and we'll just go home to our own world." Buttercup said, looking at the ground.

"No!" Julie cried, running to Bubbles and hugging her. "You're my friends! I don't want you to go!" Then she hugged the other two girls.

Ms. Keane stood and came over to Blossom and Bubbles, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. "Girls, you know what I think of you. You don't have a thing to worry about!"

They hugged her joyfully. While the boys weren't as forthcoming as Julie, they all, in their own fashion, told the Powerpuffs that they were welcome. Buttercup asked them to prove it by giving her sisters each a hug. Blossom and Bubbles were so overjoyed they didn't mind it, even from Mitch, who Blossom wasn't too crazy about. Bubbles suddenly grew agitated.

"What are we gonna tell the Professor?" she cried.

"Oh, no!" Blossom gasped. She'd forgotten that part, how devastated he would be to learn that his daughters really weren't. 

"Girls, you're gonna have to deal with it." Buttercup said, suddenly agitated herself. "I've gotta go!"

She flew toward the dark edge of the woods.

"Buttercup!" Bubbles shouted.

"C'mon, Bubbles, let's move!" Blossom cried, already on her way. Shocked one more time, the other kids and their teacher followed. They couldn't believe what they saw when they got to the forest's edge.

As they watched, and a horrified Blossom and Bubbles floated helplessly, Buttercup hovered near a thick branch of a large tree. She looked at them and said quietly, "See you soon."

With that, a thin thread shot out from her mouth and coiled itself around the tree limb. Then she spun herself in her patented 'tornado' move and the thread wrapped itself around her, beginning at her face and working down toward her feet, then up to the top of her head and back down again, until she could be seen no more. The spinning began to slow down and finally stopped, and the silvery cocoon hung there in the moonlight.

Blossom sobbed, "Oh, Buttercup!" Bubbles leaned into her and her muffled sobs could be heard. "C'mon, Bubbles, we better take her home and explain everything to the Professor."

She pulled away from Bubbles and floated up to the cocoon, gently put her arms around the entombed girl and cut the thread with her eye-lasers. 

"Blossom!" Bubbles whined. "She never told us who our guide is!"

"She's the only one who needed to know, Bubbles. I guess now we'll find out before we cocoon ourselves.'

"Yes, Blossom, I'm sure she'll reveal herself to you. But before you go, there's something I want to say to all you kids." Ms. Keane said, and she coaxed them back to the fire. They couldn't take their eyes off of what Blossom was holding, even as she gently laid it on the ground next to her as she sat.

"Now, kids," she began, "this is very important. Do you understand now about accepting those who don't look like we do?"

"Yes, Ms. Keane." Julie said. "That's kinda what my story was about."

"That's right, Julie, the little boy and the mirrors. I forgot about that! Thank you for reminding us."

"Ms. Keane?" Elmer tugged at her sleeve. "Buttercup was crying after Julie's story."

"That's because it really hit home with her."

"You don't know the half of it. That's what she said." Bubbles said softly.

"That's right, Bubbles." She turned toward the other boys. "Now, Lloyd, Floyd and Mitch." She knew Harry understood, being the object of scorn at times for his appearance. "I want to be sure you boys fully understand before I tell you the next part. Do you?"

"Yeah, Ms. Keane. We shouldn't pick on people 'cause they're not like us…" Floyd said. "…even if they're bugs from another planet." Lloyd finished.

She frowned, but they didn't laugh, nor did Mitch. They couldn't take their eyes off the cocoon.

"Mitchell?"

"Yes, Ms. Keane." He looked at Blossom and Bubbles. "You guys are cool no matter what you look like!"

"What about me, Mitchell?" the teacher asked.

"Yeah, you're cool, too, Ms. Keane!"

"Good." With that, she reached to her face and tore off the mask of the person they all knew, revealing the alien beneath.

"Ohhhhh! Ms. Keane, it's YOU!" Blossom shouted.

"You're our guide! Yippeee!" Bubbles cried gleefully.

Mitch flew to his feet in terror. Elmer shrank back. So did the twins. Harry and Julie, though shocked, didn't budge.

The strange face, looking like the big-headed, round-eyed creatures they'd seen many times on TV in movies and shows, except for the long, curved nose-thing; looked around the dwindling fire.

"Now, Mitchell, what did we just talk about? I'm still the same on the inside. You're not afraid of my proboscis, are you?"

"N-n-n-no." He sat back down slowly.

"Kids?"

Elmer looked up into the big eyes and the strange face that smiled down at him, and he leaned into his teacher and gave her a hug. Julie ran up to her and did the same. 

"Good!" she said happily and ripped off the alien mask, showing her true face. 

A startled gasp came from all of the children. Blossom and Bubbles now didn't know WHAT to think. Without warning, the cocoon vibrated, then burst into a mass of flying silver threads. Everyone jumped up, shrieking and running, except Ms. Keane who sat calmly. The night was suddenly filled with hysterical laughter, and they turned to see Buttercup, floating in midair, holding her stomach.

"Hahahahahahahahaha!!!! Oh, that was the best ever! Oh, hahaha, Mitch, you should have seen your face just then! Oh, I got you guys but GOOD!" Thanks a lot, Ms. K!!! Hahahahaha!!!!!

Her sisters were in her face in a flash. The other kids were still too surprised to realize what was going on and just watched. Most of the other kids, anyway. Mitch was nowhere to be seen.

"Buttercup! How COULD you!" Blossom screamed at her. "You scared me out of my wits!"

"Yeah!" Bubbles joined in, her face reddening. "You scared the pants offa us!!"

"Oh, hohohohoho!!! That was the whole idea, you dorks! And did I ever!! Oh, boy, you should've seen yourselves!! Hahahahahaha!!!

Blossom blinked. "You're right, Buttercup. That WAS the point of this camping trip!"

She and Bubbles stared at each other. They flew at her.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

"Uh, oh!" Buttercup took off into the night sky, her sisters in hot pursuit.

Blossom yelled, "I get my hands on you, Buttercup, you'll see something REALLY scary!"

"Yeah!" Bubbles shouted. "I got my OWN message of peace, love and acceptance!"

But they were laughing as they said it.

  



	6. Ch 6

****

"Area 52"

* * *

By I am a good fighter

Powerpuff Girls created by Craig McCracken and all characters associated with the show are owned by Cartoon Network

  
  
  


**SIX**

  


In the boys' cabin, the twins and Harry were snoring in their bunks. The boys had talked about the night, mostly about Buttercup's tale. But the twins had missed the first part, and Elmer gave up after trying to explain it three times. Finally, they drifted off.

"Hey, Mitch?" Elmer said in the dark. The porch light was out now, and the only light in the cabin was from the moon.

"What?"

"That Buttercup is cool, isn't she?"

"Yeah, I guess, for a girl."

"Were you scared?"

"Huh? By that sissy story? No way!"

"Hey, you said it was the freakiest story ever!"

"Yeah, the first part was, but the rest of it, man, I could see right through it. Didn't fool me, man!"

"Then where'd you go? Nobody could find you for a minute."

"What're you talkin' about? I didn't go anyplace."

"Yeah you did. I saw you come out of here."

"Did not."

"Did too." Elmer sat up. "You peed your pants, didn't ya? That's why you ran in here!"

"Did not!"

The light in the room flicked on and Mitch saw Elmer standing in the doorway.

"Did too! And I bet if I look around, I'll find 'em, too!"

Mitch jumped out of bed and grabbed Elmer's T-shirt. "You ever tell anybody, paste-eater, and I'll…"

"Don't call me paste-eater no more."

Mitch blinked.

"Deal?" Elmer stuck out his hand. Mitch slapped it and rasped, "Deal!"

The light went out and the two boys climbed back into their bunks. Smiling, Elmer rolled over and was asleep in minutes. For Mitch, sleep wouldn't come for some time yet, and when it did, his dreams would be about pink, blue and green insects, chasing him while he screamed his head off.

  


* * * * *

  


The moon had grown to the largest it would appear this night, and the crickets were chirping mightily. Four girls sat on blankets around the dwindling campfire, in their nightclothes. Ms. Keane had allowed them to stay up a while longer with a promise from Blossom to make sure the fire was completely out before they left it, and she had gone to bed. Buttercup sat with her back to the woods, with Blossom opposite her. Julie and Bubbles sat next to each other, to Buttercup's right; where they could see the boys' cabin and the darkness beyond. The Powerpuffs could see in the dark better than other people, so Ms. Keane had given Julie a flashlight and it sat to her right on the blanket, between her and Bubbles.

"Buttercup?" asked Julie, "You were so quiet while the rest of us were telling our stories. Were you thinking about yours the whole time?"

"Nah, I was listening. I knew for weeks what I was gonna do. I only did that to creep you guys out."

"It sure worked." Blossom said. "What did you think about the other stories? You never said anything."

"I really liked yours, Julie. I got worried it was too much like mine, but it looks like it helped set mine up even better. I really felt bad for that kid." She looked at Julie, then grinned at her sisters. "Those were real tears. The rest were all fake! Hahahahahaha!!!"

She couldn't help but laugh again at the big one she'd gotten over on them. They crossed their arms, frowning. Bubbles asked, "What about ours?"

"Hahaha! I forgot about Blossom and that stupid clarinet! Thanks, Bubbles!"

Blossom let out an indignant "Hmmph!"

"Oh, get over it, Blossom! I liked yours, too, even if you did steal it offa Dexter. I never watch that dumb show, but man those eyes sounded creepy!"

She paused for a second. "The other ones were pretty good, too. 'Cept for the twins and Elmer."

"What? You thought Mitch's was GOOD?" Blossom asked, surprised.

"Yeah! Who ever heard of a vampire that drinks snot?! That was funny!"

"Ewwwwww!!!" the other three responded, leaning away from her.

"Plus, when you and he started arguing about our noses and ears, Blossom, that gave me a perfect place to start. I was just gonna start in with about them coming here and work that other stuff in later."

"Well, Buttercup, I still can't say I'm happy about your portrayal of us and Professor and the people of Townsville, but I have to admit you had me believing it." Blossom told her.

"And the first part, about searching for peace and love and how they came here was beautiful." Julie said.

"And sad!" Bubbles added. "I liked their names! Where'd you get them from?"

"Oh, they were just March and April spelled backwards. And Mayor!" she giggled.

"I can't believe Ms. Keane agreed to go in on it!" Blossom exclaimed. "Where'd you get those masks from?"

Buttercup smiled. "The alien one was easy; you can get those anyplace and Professor made the nose for it. You're gonna love this. Ms. Keane's I borrowed from the police. I gotta give it back tomorrow." 

"The police?!" the three girls gasped.

Buttercup broke into a wide grin. "Yeah! They got it in a raid at Sedusa's house!"

"Sedusa!" Bubbles shouted, giggling wildly. Julie and Blossom laughed along with Buttercup, who was revelling in her 'coup'.

"This has to be one of your biggest practical jokes yet, Buttercup!" Blossom said, still snickering. She paused. "Hey! I just thought of something! That was a pretty neat trick, getting all the boys to hug us and not you!"

"Hey, yeah! Why not you?" Bubbles challenged.

"Duh! They're BOYS, dummy! Yuck!" She spit to one side, causing the other three girls to laugh. "Besides, I didn't think you'd mind." she added smugly, and this time they all laughed.

Buttercup turned serious. "Y'know, this wasn't that easy. I knew you guys were gonna ask questions and I tried to be ready for 'em. But I forgot somethin' big, Blossom, and when you talked about poking holes, I just knew you were gonna get me. I decided I better do the cocoon thingie right away."

_"What'd I miss?"_ Blossom wondered. _"Today was not one of your better days in the thinking department, Blossom!" _"What, Buttercup?" she asked.

"How Professor really didn't make us. If that was true, then how did we make Bunny and how'd Mojo make those stupid Rowdyruff Boys? I didn't have a good explanation ready and if you asked me that, I was done for!"

Blossom and Bubbles blinked at each other. Blossom slapped her forehead. "D'OH! Why didn't I think of that?!" She smiled at her sister. "I'm glad I didn't! You were right, that cocoon thing was the clincher."

Bubbles squeaked, "Yeah, how'd you do that?!"

"C'mon, I'll show ya!"

Buttercup took off for the tree, Blossom following. Julie climbed on Bubbles piggy-back style and they were over there in seconds. Buttercup pointed at something behind the thick tree limb she had hung from. It looked like a spool of silvery thread, on a holder attached to the branch, where it could spin freely.

"I found this in Professor's lab and nailed it there last week. I was already tied to it when you guys got over here."

"But, I saw it come out of your mouth!" Blossom cried.

"No you didn't, that's just what you THOUGHT you saw! I had a piece of black thread going to the tree, and I had some powdered sugar in a straw that I blew, and it made the thread turn white and LOOK like it was coming from me! Pretty cool, huh?"

"Boy, you must have been planning this a long time!" Julie said as Bubbles carried her back to the fire while the other two girls floated alongside.

"Buttercup, where'd you get this crazy idea from, anyway? I have to say I'm impressed with the amount of research you put into it." Blossom said.

"Yeah, Ms. Keane helped me with some of it, but y'know what? I liked learning about that stuff!"

"But, where'd you get the idea?" Bubbles repeated Blossom's query as they sat once more. 

"Well, you know how Mojo and Him and Sedusa always call us bug-eyed brats and creeps and whatever…and I always wondered about how we came out being a little different, not that it bothers me any…"

"Hmmmm. And I suppose we DO look sort of like angry bees when we're stopping those villains…" Blossom interjected.

"Yeah!" Buttercup grinned. "And sting like 'em, too!"

"But what about the aliens?" Bubbles asked.

"Well, when Ms. Keane told us about the camping trip and I asked her where it was, I came out here to see if I could get some ideas. And it just clicked."

"What clicked, Buttercup? What's out here to make you think about spaceships and beings from another planet?"

"Blossom, where are we?"

"Townsville, Buttercup!" Bubbles interrupted, giggling.

"No, dummy, what part of the park are we in?"

Blossom thought for a second. She gasped, "Bubbles, give me the flashlight!"

Julie and Bubbles flinched, thinking Blossom had seen a wild animal, but Bubbles handed it over. Blossom flicked it on and trained the beam around the grounds until she found what she was looking for, a white painted sign near their cabin. She shined the light directly on the reflective surface and they read the words in black.

'CAMPING AREA 51'

Blossom spun the flashlight and quickly found the sign near the boys' cabin, knowing it would say,

'CAMPING AREA 52'

"Whooooaaaaa." the three other girls said. Buttercup beamed proudly.

"You thought all that up from that…wow, Buttercup, I'm impressed." Blossom said again, softly. She looked up into the night at the billions of stars, thinking.

"You know what I really liked," Bubbles looked over at her green-eyed sister, "was how you made it about peace and love and not blowin' up stuff and fightin' scary monsters like you usually do, Buttercup."

"Well," she answered, "I was just trying to make you guys believe that it could be real about us being from another planet. I just wanted to scare you, that's all. But I'm still a Powerpuff, Bubbles, and that's what we're all about. It's fun doing that other stuff, but most of the time I wish we didn't have to."

"Yeah, Buttercup. " Julie said. "That's why you'll always be my friends no matter what. You know, I'm almost sorry it isn't true."

"What? My story?"

"Yeah." Julie joined Blossom in looking up at the stars and said, "I wish we could meet people from some other world. I bet we'd like them and I hope they'd like us."

Buttercup slid over closer to Julie and Blossom moved closer to Bubbles. The girls held hands and all four looked up, to ponder the vastness of space as the fire burned down.

"Maybe someday." Bubbles said.

"Yeah, Bubbles," Buttercup whispered softly. "Someday."

  
  


**THE END**

  
  



End file.
